Ever wonder how people can believe so strongly in religious myths and become so incensed when their beliefs are questioned?

The Human Mind Is Naturally Prone To the Following Egocentric Tendencies:

egocentric memory (the natural tendency to "forget" evidence and information which does not support our thinking and to "remember" evidence and information which does)

egocentric myopia (the natural tendency to think in an absolutist way within an overly narrow point of view)

egocentric infallibility (the natural tendency to think that our beliefs are true because we believe them)

egocentric righteousness (the natural tendency to feel superior in the light of our confidence that we are in the possession of THE TRUTH)

egocentric hypocrisy (the natural tendency to ignore flagrant inconsistencies between what we profess to believe and the actual beliefs our behavior imply, or inconsistencies between the standards to which we hold ourselves and those to which we expect others to adhere)

egocentric oversimplification (the natural tendency to ignore real and important complexities in the world in favor of simplistic notions when consideration of those complexities would require us to modify our beliefs or values)

egocentric blindness (the natural tendency not to notice facts or evidence which contradict our favored beliefs or values)

egocentric immediacy (the natural tendency to over-generalize immediate feelings and experiences--so that when one event in our life is highly favorable or unfavorable, all of life seems favorable or unfavorable as well)

egocentric absurdity (the natural tendency to fail to notice thinking which has "absurd" consequences, when noticing them would force us to rethink our position)

(11-10-2011 12:42 PM)Thomas Wrote: Ever wonder how people can believe so strongly in religious myths and become so incensed when their beliefs are questioned?

The Human Mind Is Naturally Prone To the Following Egocentric Tendencies:
..................
Any Questions?

Source: The Miniature Guide to the Human Mind

Thomas, you have a beautiful collection of human attributes in your OP.

One question, if you know the answer:

What is the survival value of these attributes that evolution endowed us with?

lets take a example that can happen for anyone. Lets say you are walking on a small country road there are bushes along both sides of the road. after you been walking for a while you hear something in the bush along the left side.

Now you have too chose.
Either you too believe that there's a snake you quickly head to the right side of the road.
Or you can choose to believe that it's the wind and you keep on walking along the left side.

If there's the wind it wouldn't have mattered you are safe with either choice.
But if there was a snake there choosing not to believe that would maybe had cost your life.

we do this on a daily basis we choose to believe things just because it safer.

Hope i didn't loose you somewhere in there, Im abit dyslectic so i apologize for the gorilla style sentence building.

You are on the right thinking path.
Human evolution of the mind has made us great "avoiders"
We learn to recognize patterns and relationships, even when they do not exist, and react to them. The evolution part is that we are correct sometimes and there IS a snake in the grass. We are so good at this that we don't just learn from an event, but we can compile multiple events and imagine patterns that have never existed.
Is there a monster in your closet? Blame evolution for scaring you to death as a kid and also give it credit for possibly saving your life or many of your ancestors. The person who cannot imagine the snake from the slight sound is bitten and dies, not passing on their genes.
Over time imagination evolved to the point that we can use past experiences and unrelated sensory input to predict all kinds of wild things, sometimes be right, and sometimes invent myths of giants, talking snakes, dragons and flying horses.
Some say this is how consciousness arose in humans and other higher forms of animals. To be a great avoider you have to be self aware, a great pattern maker and have an imagination to put it all together. Now you have the "illusion" of consciousness.
Daniel Dennett has done great work on this and much of what I have said here is from his lectures and publications. Also see Sam Harris on determinism versus free will to really get into consciousness aspects of the human mind.

Aren't all of these things true of atheists too? It is from a guide to the human mind, not the religious mind, and I have observed all of these characteristics in atheists.

(11-10-2011 03:12 PM)Zatamon Wrote: One question, if you know the answer:

What is the survival value of these attributes that evolution endowed us with?

I don't know whether evolution can explain these attributes but the Biblical story of creation can. The effects of sin have impaired the human race both physically and mentally and one of the results of this impairment is that we don't always think logically.

The information in ancient libraries came from real minds of real people. The far more complex information in cells came from the far more intelligent mind of God.

(12-10-2011 09:54 AM)theophilus Wrote: The effects of sin have impaired the human race both physically and mentally and one of the results of this impairment is that we don't always think logically.

I agree completely Theophile. Sin is probably not only the most counterproductive concept we have ever invented, but the most destructive one as well. We should never have allowed it to even occur to us, or at least nipped it in the bud when it did. We most certainly should never have allowed it to take root and then exacerbate the problem by further cultivating it. ... There's your Satan, you make it up and sustain it yourself. ... Same as your God.

As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

Aren't all of these things true of atheists too? It is from a guide to the human mind, not the religious mind, and I have observed all of these characteristics in atheists.

(11-10-2011 03:12 PM)Zatamon Wrote: One question, if you know the answer:

What is the survival value of these attributes that evolution endowed us with?

I don't know whether evolution can explain these attributes but the Biblical story of creation can. The effects of sin have impaired the human race both physically and mentally and one of the results of this impairment is that we don't always think logically.

Of course the biblical stories can explain it, they're made up and can be forced to account for anything given enough rationalization. Sin is just a religious concept. Made up by religious leaders to keep their people in check (notice the emphasis on respecting authority). Even within the same religion people don't have the same concept of sin. It is worthless except for where it enforces good moral principles (not killing each other, etc) which are nearly universal.